West Virginia legislative candidate killed by tree that fell in storm

By VICTORIA CAVALIERE

|NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Oct 31, 2012 | 3:38 PM

A man uses a backhoe to do some tree trimming on Rt. 612 in Mossy, W.Va. Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 after superstorm Sandy dumped 2 feet of snow in parts of the West Virginia mountains. A West Virginia legislative candidate was killed by a falling tree during Hurricane Sandy. (Tom Hindman/Charleston Daily Mail/AP)

A Republican candidate for the West Virginia Legislature was among those killed in Hurricane Sandy and it is too late to remove his name from the ballot, officials confirmed Wednesday.

John Rose Sr. was killed Tuesday by a falling tree branch as he checked the fences of his deer farm in Barbour County, W.V., officials said. West Virginia was blanketed by heavy snow days after Sandy caused epic flooding in the Northeast. The death toll rose to 50 across nine states on Wednesday, with several people killed by fallen tree limbs.

Rose was a GOP candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates. West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant extended her “thoughts and prayers” to Rose’s family.

With elections just six days away, it is too late to replace Rose’s name on the ballot, WDTV reported. A sign will be posted at precincts advising voters of Rose's death, according to state election officials.

If Rose is elected, the state Republican party executive committee of Barbour County must then submit three names to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. It will be up to the governor to select a nominee to serve the 47th district, the station reported.